


The House Guest

by Torisaur



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Pre-Canon, Angst, Child Abandonment, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Possible Other Tags Later?, Suicide Attempt, love me that dreemurr family
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-01-08
Updated: 2016-01-08
Packaged: 2018-05-12 12:24:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,218
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5665993
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Torisaur/pseuds/Torisaur
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A great hole laid before them, almost inviting them to jump in.</p><p>Chara puffed their chest as they stood at the edge of the hole that stood in front of them. Their small shadow seemed to be swallowed by the unknown darkness that was much greater than they could ever hope to be. </p><p>----</p><p>In which a child whose hopes have all been dashed may finally find what they've been looking for.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The House Guest

**Author's Note:**

> Even the best laid plans of mice and men often go astray.

Mt. Ebott. Chara had heard plenty of stories about this place.

It was known as a place where humans could disappear. Legends said that those who climbed the mountain never returned.

Chara didn’t care all that much about the rumors. The mountain was, to Chara, a means to an end.

They had finally reached a clearing in the woods after what felt like hours. Wet, somewhat decayed leaves clung to their legs, and brown bits of dirt had become plastered onto Chara’s once shiny black shoes.

They had planned this journey out a long time ago, but nothing had prepared them for what they saw now.

A great hole laid before them, almost inviting them to jump in.

Chara puffed their chest as they stood at the edge of the hole that stood in front of them. Their small shadow seemed to be swallowed by the unknown darkness that was much greater than they could ever hope to be.

Some people even said that monsters lived on top of the mountain. Admittedly, that excited Chara, even if that couldn’t be true. There weren’t any monsters here. Chara had already proven one person wrong today.

Chara knew about monsters from the stories that other… _people_ had told them. Chara struggled to call them friends. If they _were_ friends, wouldn’t they have had Chara’s back? Wouldn’t they have tried to _help_ , even if they didn’t know the gravity of the situation?

 

_A man rubbed his hand through his child’s hair while his wife paced anxiously near the foyer’s door._

_“We’ll be back soon, Chara!”:_

_Chara believed them. This was a big trip that their mom and dad had been looking forward to for a long time. They were going on a road trip to a casino at some place that Chara didn’t remember. Chara had proudly claimed that they were old enough to stay home by themselves. After all, there was plenty of food in the fridge that Chara could eat. They didn’t really fight Chara on the idea, either. They explained that Chara couldn’t have gone anyway because they were a child._

_They lovingly waved as their parents got into their convertible and drove away. It was near the end of summer, and they wanted to drive it one last time._

_They were supposed to be gone for only two days—they were supposed to be home by Sunday night._

_Chara felt uncomfortable when the door didn’t open before their bedtime that night, but they knew their parents would be home in the morning, and that filled them with comfort. They were intelligent enough to know that traffic could have easily delayed their parents’ arrival home._

_When the sunlight fell onto Chara’s face through their bedroom window, they knew a large part of the morning must have already gone by. They flopped to their side, looking at the clock. It was 10:38. Chara never slept this late; nobody had come to wake them up._

_Chara waited at home for a few more days, but nobody came._

_They went to the small police house in the northernmost part of town for help. The policemen weren’t all too helpful. The investigation went on for a few weeks, and in that time Chara was given a little food to eat by their neighbors. Most of the time, Chara had to steal from their parents’ emergency money to keep themselves fed._

_Rumors of all kinds spread throughout the village once the investigation returned with inconclusive results._

_Some say they died._

_Others thought they had simply ran away._

_Chara would never know for sure._

_Knowing that Chara was alone in the house seemed to ignite something primal inside some members of the village. Chara’s parents were wealthy. They were known for their generous donations to town projects and weekly fancy dinners._

_People began to believe that since the house wasn’t being taken care of by its owners anymore, it was okay to take from it. After all, Chara was too young to actually own the property._

_One night, Chara awoke to the clattering of dishes. Someone had broken into their house, Chara realized. They knew they weren’t strong enough to stop an adult. They did the only thing they could think of: jump out their bedroom window._

_They slid down the home’s shingles and tumbled to the ground. Somehow, they were nearly unscathed. They ran as fast as they could. It was the last straw—Chara knew they had to get out of town._

_They never looked back._

Thinking about what had happened made their heart pound and their head ache. 

Humans were such terrible, awful company.

Honestly, Chara had grown to sympathize with the monsters.

Chara had heard rumors that even ghosts were considered monsters. If they were a ghost, they could just float out of the hole and haunt everyone.

No. No, this was stupid.

Sure, it would be funny to be a ghost, but for how long? Would they _like_ being a ghost? Nobody had ever told them what ghosts really did. What if ghosts weren’t as cool as they seemed in stories?

Or, what if…

 

_Look—kid, sometimes we just can’t find people. Don’t you have some other family to stay with?_

 

What if, unlike ghost stories, nobody mourned them after they were gone?

They walked away from the edge.

Maybe they weren’t a big enough kid to make this kind of decision.

Maybe they could find somewhere to go: not too far away, but far enough to do something with their life. As much as they wanted their parents to come home, they knew they’d wither away if they stayed here.

Chara nodded their head slowly up and down as an idea came to them. Yeah, they could run away! They had money in their piggy bank—dollars and coins they had found scattered around the ground one time outside the school courtyard, mostly, but money nonetheless. They could go to the little city a few hours’ walk from Mt. Ebott and try to find some kind of work. Sure, they were a child, but children could still get a job, right?

Chara believed that if they explained their situation, they could get _something_.

Yet, they probably wouldn’t be all that happy. Admittedly, they had already tried that. They had rode around on buses for a few weeks before returning to this mountain. They had tried to find something else to do.

Chara shook their head violently back and forth. _Enough thinking_ , they thought. They had decisions to make.

They slipped on a clump of wet leaves and fell to their knees. Their headache had grown worse, as if it was screaming at Chara to jump into the unknown. Why should a silly hole in the ground strike fear into their heart like it was right now?

Their heart raced. A few tears fell to join the already-wet ground below them. Suddenly, Chara’s hand shot forward, grabbing a fistful of leaves in their left hand. They looked carefully at the sloppy mess they now held before throwing it towards the hole. The amalgamation of leaves and dirt only flew forward about ten or so feet before landing with a _squish_.

Enough was enough, Chara realized. They were growing more and more tired the longer they waited. They were ready to take action.

They started walking closer to the edge again, each step smaller than the last. Apprehension kept them from making a run towards the hole. They were so tired from their walk, and they felt emotionally exhausted.

They were so focused on their stumbling that they failed to notice the root sticking out of the ground. One of Chara’s shoes caught on the tangled knot of plant matter, and while they managed not to lose their shoe, they lost their balance. Wide-eyed, Chara pitched forward and over the edge of the hole. Chara wanted to close their eyes, but fear kept their expression from faltering.

The ground quickly proved to Chara that it wasn’t nearly as far down as they thought it was. They landed in a welcoming muddy puddle, pain shooting up their right leg. Rockier ground had greeted it, it seemed. The puddle was more or less on the border between dryer ground and what appeared to be a marsh. Frogs’ ribbits echoed from somewhere in the distance.

They did their best to crawl out of the mud, scraping their left arm on the rough, rock-littered dirt. A sizable portion of the mud that stained their sweater was left on the gravel as they moved further away from the mud.

Admittedly, Chara liked the imagery of a snail-like mud trail being left behind them. They felt like they could at least accomplish something. They had left their mark.

Having crawled their way into a patch of thin grasses, they finally slumped to the ground again.

 _It would have been so much better to just run away than to die in the bottom of a cavern_ , Chara admitted begrudgingly.

Wherever they had fallen into wasn’t particularly small—picking their head up, Chara noticed the cavern seemed to stretch in all directions further than they bothered to stare. Light filtered down from high above, softly cascading onto where they had fallen down. It looked much higher from down below. Water trickled down from the hole as well. A number of seemingly useless columns rose up some feet above them. A mix of smells floated into Chara’s nose, and they assumed it was a result of the blend of fresh and stagnant air within in the cave. Their face was still splotchy with grime, but truthfully, they didn’t care all too much.

They didn’t feel like they deserved to be seeing any of this right now.

Nobody would find them down here. No wonder they were told people disappeared on Mt. Ebott.

Still, if people had disappeared before, could they still be here, somewhere among the rocks, dirt, and snails? Chara felt themselves gain the slightest bit of hope.

They mustered all their strength to cry out for help.

Their cry was greeted by silence.

Laying on the ground and unwilling to move, Chara realized how hungry they were. Their stomach growled loudly.

They couldn’t pay attention to their stomach, though, because something had moved in the tall grasses just out of sight, but not out of earshot.

Chara didn’t know if they should react to the noise in the distance. They had read a story a few weeks ago about a child who was mauled by a wild boar.

They didn’t particularly want to be mauled.

Squinting, they could see a tuft of white fur peeking over the grass.

“W-who’s there?” Chara called out to the unknown being in the bush. They secretly hoped it was their imagination.

The vegetation shook violently, and then stopped. Whoever was there must have moved.

Chara listened closely, and could hear the quietest of footsteps. They searched around for the noise.

A small, white goat’s head peeped out from behind one of the pillars.

The goat was… bipedal. Chara hadn’t expected that. Chara watched as they ran from the bush to a nearby pillar. They slowly popped out from behind that as well.

In fact, maybe they _were_ just hallucinating. This could all be one messed up dream.

“Howdy!” The goat called out to Chara, waving a paw in the air as they approached. They didn’t seem too afraid of Chara, so Chara tried not to be afraid of them. The goat didn’t seem particularly threatening. Chara estimated that if they stood up, the goat would be around their height. They were moving quickly towards Chara, eyebrows raised in worry.

“Are you okay? I heard a cry from the other room and, well, I couldn’t see anything when I walked in. Were you the one who was yelling?” They looked concerned. “Hey, you’re a kid too, aren’t you? I know you are! You’re wearing a striped shirt.” The goat was right about that. Chara had worn their favorite striped sweater today. It was worn out along the edges, but still had plenty of use left in it.

Chara made a mental note that he (??) must also be a child. That might make it easier for Chara to escape if things went bad. Children were quick to win over, a fact Chara knew well. Before they had started to think for themselves, they too were easily convinced.

“Oh! I just realized. Here I am, talking to you, and I don’t even know your name! Come on, tell me your name!” His eyes glowed with enthusiasm.

“I… I’m Chara,” they replied, looking towards the ground. Their energy was still spent; they didn’t particularly want to waste it in meaningless conversation.

But Chara couldn’t help but be curious. They didn’t know why anyone else would be here. Did he have any friends? Were they as welcoming?

Could they be safe here, with this goat that they barely knew? It was a comforting thought. They watched as the kid put a paw to his face.

“Chara, huh? That’s a nice name. My name is Asriel!” Chara saw Asriel smile wide, but they were focused on struggling onto their feet. Something was definitely broken. They wondered if there was efficient medical treatment down here. Probably not.

“It’s funny, though. I’ve never heard of any monsters with a name like yours!” Chara decided not to respond to Asriel’s outburst. He must not realize that Chara was a human. The war had been many years ago, after all.

Besides, Chara had other things to focus on. They wanted to figure out what they would do now. Of course, they didn’t even know where they were. A flash of pain betrayed the difficulty Chara was having with their leg. They had never broken a bone before, so the pain they were in was proving difficult to mask. They didn’t want to damage their leg further, but the desire to explore made them want to get off of the ground.

“Ah, here! Let me help you. It’s my job to help people, did you know that?”

“That sounds like a lot of work,” Chara commented, their left hand clutching onto Asriel’s paw. For some reason, actually holding it made all of this feel much more real. They definitely would have woke up by now. Chara could feel the unique texture of his paw pads—yet his thick fur was a little slippery as Chara pulled themselves up. “But no, I didn’t know that. Should I?”

“Well, _duh_! Don’t you live around here with anyone else?” Chara shrugged in response. “Well, I’m sure nearly every monster in the kingdom knows that it’s a prince’s duty to keep his people safe! Heh, it’s always funny to act like I’m a guardian.” Asriel puffed his chest, chuckling to himself. He held out his arm to Chara.

“Um, it’s not weird if I hold your arm, right? I promise it’ll hurt you less if you let me help you a little more...” Asriel paused, caught off guard by Chara’s puzzled expression. “Ah, you don’t have to look at me like that!”

“Sorry. Uh, this is just a bit much at once.” Chara tried to act nonchalant about the whole thing. “But, I think I’d be okay with that?” Chara couldn’t help but feel a little fuzzy, although they couldn’t tell if it was from Asriel’s kindness or their increasing hunger. They searched their brain for something nice to say to Asriel. “I think you're gonna be an awesome leader, Asriel.”

Asriel stopped walking, catching Chara off guard. “Thank you! And I’ll make sure that you’ll be okay, too!” Chara didn't expect them to say that.

Chara didn’t know how to break the silence that followed after that, but Asriel did.

“Hey, Chara, would you want to go on a walk? I swear it’ll be nice!” Asriel brightened as they looked at Chara.

How could Chara say no?

They walked in silence, exiting the Ruins.

The first place they passed through was a snowy forest. A chill ran through Chara, but Asriel’s body heat and fur kept them from truly feeling cold. They felt safe.

Eventually, they reached a clearing in the brush. A small village was forming, Snowdin Town, and it made Chara’s heart ache. They hoped it would be better than the village they came from.

Asriel took a sharp turn, and Chara almost slipped in the snow.

“Ah, sorry! I probably should have warned you about that! It’s hard to tell, but some of the snow around here is super deep. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve almost gotten stuck in the snow before!”

Asriel pointed at a boat in the distance, claiming that it could let them bypass a lot of walking. Chara struggled to get onto the boat, eventually just flopping in on their stomach. They felt a little uncomfortable, mostly because a stranger was in the boat with them.

“Where would you like to go?” The hooded stranger asked, looking directly at Asriel. They didn’t seem to acknowledge Chara’s presence.

“Hotland, please!” Asriel called. Chara didn’t know any of these names, but they could guess pretty easily how warm it would probably be there.

The sound of water rushing past their boat helped Chara to relax. They still had no idea what Asriel was up to. They should be more cautious of doing something like this, but they couldn’t get the courage to just, well, leave.

Also, they couldn’t swim.

“So, uh, remember how I just told you about the snow?”

Chara nodded, and Asriel’s expression quickly turned somber.

“One time, I actually couldn’t get out. I cried and cried, but these villagers weren’t here yet. The cold had really started to hurt, and I wanted to give up.”

Chara didn’t know why Asriel was telling them this story, but they listened.

“Suddenly, a very nice turtle man appeared! He gave me a boost out of the snow and showed me around Waterfall. It was so pretty! Sometimes, you have to accept help from other people, I learned, Chara. So I hope you like my help! Because I really think you’re a nice person, even if you don’t think you are.” Asriel paused. Chara’s shoulders rose slightly, a chill moving up their spine. Asriel moved closer, probably so that the stranger in charge of the boat couldn't overhear more of their conversation.

“Look, Chara. I don’t know how you ended up falling down here, but humans don’t go jumping down spooky holes for no reason. I dunno if you're gonna tell me why you did it, but I still wanna help you.”

Chara felt their hands shake uncontrollably. Asriel did know, after all. They didn’t say thank you, but their wide eyes gave away their feelings as they stared back at Asriel, speechless. Chara didn’t want to cry in front of Asriel.

They couldn’t _not_ like Asriel’s presence. He was so… sincere. On the surface, they had never had a friend that was both talkative and friendly. They had always been the one to start conversation.

A beat later, he had returned to his chipper self.

“Anyway, we’re here in Hotland! Let’s keep going, Chara!”

After getting off the boat, Chara took a look around. It was much warmer here than it was back in Waterfall—which made sense, Chara realized. Being underground must have meant the monsters had access to real lava. Chara didn’t understand how or why people would live in such a hostile environment, but they couldn’t judge. Asriel pointed to an elevator, and Chara followed. They were still using Asriel for some amount of support, but Asriel picked up speed as they got close to the elevator.

Once inside the elevator, it was almost like his body was full of electricity. His weight shifted from side to side, as if he was holding some immense secret.

“Oh, yeah! Remember how I said I’m a super-cool guardian? Well, even guardians have guardians! Wow, that word takes a lot of effort to say, huh? Anyway, Mom’s probably worried sick! We’re almost home now.”

Chara froze, taking in a sharp breath.

Of course Asriel wasn’t alone. That’d be silly, even if that’s what Chara had been hoping for.

Was this really a smart decision? Sure, Chara could make new friends down here. They could try their best to fit in, but, how long would it last? A few days? A few weeks?

How long would it take for Asriel to get bored of them? Maybe they were just another project to Asriel. Asriel had a family. Chara surely didn’t.

“Hey, Chara, are you okay? You’re… shaking,” Asriel asked, softly, as they looked to Chara, who had slumped against Asriel’s shoulder.

Their fear consumed them. They would just get chummy with Asriel to get disowned again. This time, though, they _really_ wouldn’t know where to go. There didn’t seem to be an obvious exit anywhere.

“I… I don’t know if I can go through with this anymore, Asriel,” Chara admitted, slumping to the cold ground. The elevator floor was significantly cooler than Chara had expected, since they were literally next to numerous lava pits. Asriel watched silently.

Admittedly, Chara didn’t have much of a choice at this point. They were riding an elevator into what could certainly be the end of their life. What if Asriel’s mother wasn’t as nice? Chara didn’t have much reason to think otherwise.

…Yet, something deep inside of Chara begged them to keep going. How awful could a single monster be, especially if they were Asriel’s caretaker? 

“Chara?” Asriel’s voice seemed a million miles away as Chara sat on the ground, contemplating.

Chara wasn’t sure if they wanted to be nervous or not.

Chara shook their head back and forth a few times, and looked up at Asriel. 

"You okay, Chara?"

They nodded, and let Asriel pick them off the ground.

New Home—that’s what Asriel had called it—was pretty cool. It contained an unending number of skyscrapers that held who knew how many monsters. The grey towers reached up to the cavern ceiling that kept all the monsters underground. Chara wondered just how far away they were from the surface.

Chara felt small, but they kept moving forward. They didn’t have much of a choice, anyway, as Asriel’s resolve seemed to grow stronger after their breakdown. Asriel refused to let go. It meant more to them than he would ever be able to know.

They walked past home after home. Chara couldn’t help but feel a little apprehensive. They didn’t know if other members of this community would be as open to this change as Asriel had been.

There was an occasional glance that lingered too long on Chara. Maybe that was because the monster was _literally_ at least fifty percent eyeball.

Before Chara could take in all of these new sights, Asriel stopped walking.

“We’re here! Stay here for a second, please, Chara?”

Chara nodded, sitting down on the ground. They didn’t want to further damage themselves.

After Asriel disappeared into the home, Chara took a better look at it. It was, well, large. The dark, rough stones that held the walls together gave it an air of importance. It was a little funny to compare Asriel, whose fur was soft and white, and whose personality made for great company, to this rocky home.

Admittedly, Chara was immediately reminded of those old medieval castles from their history class. They wanted to share their joy with a friend, but they just weren’t as interested. It was a little harder to love castles after that.

The creaking of what must have been an ancient door took Chara out of their daze. Asriel walked out first, but Chara could see they were holding someone else’s hand. They were another goat monster, but they were significantly taller than Asriel. This monster had to be Asriel’s mother, Chara presumed. She wore a flowing, purple gown that seemed to just reach her feet without actually touching the ground.

“Do not worry, little one." Defensively, Chara stood up a little straighter. She tried to stifle a laugh, but it still came out, light and airy.

"I am Toriel, caretaker of the Underground and faithful protector of any monster in need. Now, you’re not a monster—but I can help if you so allow.” She extended an arm slowly towards Chara.

A peace offering.

Asriel nodded their head up and down furiously in Chara’s direction.

Chara stared directly into Toriel’s eyes, but they had a hard time finding any negative emotion in them. She was slouched slightly. Like this, Chara felt a little less frightened.

They had jumped down Mt. Ebott, where humans were said to disappear forever. Instead, they were not only alive, but were being offered peace by a monster that could have easily taken their life.

Chara felt flabbergasted. What had they done to deserve this kindness?

It didn’t feel right. It shouldn’t feel right.

But they were here now, so what else could they do?

Despite every fleeting emotion that demanded Chara to run, they chose to stay.  

 

They took Toriel’s hand.

“I suppose I’ll stay with you.” Chara looked down at the floor, just so Toriel could not see Chara’s ever-so-slight smile.

**Author's Note:**

> This was supposed to be a one-shot, but the good ol' head of mine had other plans. Oops. ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯ I have't written anything long for quite a while, so comments are highly appreciated! I really enjoy character exploration.


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